Is Nokia paying out to ransom hackers?

Microsoft-owned mobile phone manufacturer Nokia has been accused by a Finnish TV station of handing over millions of Euros in ransom money to hackers.

The claims were made by the Finnish broadcast station MTV. The broadcaster believes the criminals allegedly threatened to publish Nokia’s source code for its mobile operating system.

A spokesman for the local police confirmed that an investigation involving Nokia and suspected blackmailers was ongoing. Hackers were able to obtain encryption codes for Nokia’s Symbian software, said the station. The data could potentially expose smartphones running on the operating system to malicious software should it become common knowledge.

MTV also claims that ransom money was handed over in a car park with police in attendance. It said that the police then ‘lost track’ of the criminals.

The majority of Nokia devices now run on Microsoft’s Windows Phone software.